Agnes Moorehead

Agnes Moorehead was a United States character actress. She was born in Clinton, Massachusetts.

Moorehead was a graduate of Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio. She was also part of Orson Welles' Mercury Theater on the Air radio program in the 1930s and appeared in a Broadway production of Don Juan in Hell in 1950.

While never a headlining star in films, her skill at charecter development and her range, allowed Moorehead to garner awards and accolades. Moorehead transitioned to television in a seamless fashion, and again won acclaim and accolades for her work in drama and in comedy.

Agnes Moorhead died in Rochester, Minnesota from lung cancer. While never confirmed, it is suspected that Moorhead's cancer was a result of having been exposed to radiation while filming The Conqueror in the Nevada desert. Moorehead, and co-stars John Wayne and Susan Hayward all died from cancer. The irony of this circumstance is that three of Hollywood's biggest stars may have literally and unknowingly sacrificed their health to make a movie that is consistently rated as one of the worst films of the 1950's. Moorehead herself believed her cancer was related to this exposure, commenting in an interview shortly before her death I wish I'd never done that damn movie.

Following her death, Moorehead willed her Emmy for Bewitched, her Oscar nominations and her private papers to Muskingum College, along with her family's home in Rix Mills, Ohio.